The Hurricane (1999 film)

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The Hurricane is a 1999 film starring Denzel Washington. It purports to be the true story of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, whose conviction for triple murder was set aside after he had spent almost 20 years in prison.

Contents

1 Cast and team
2 Storyline
3 Controversy
4 Awards
5 Trivia
6 External links

Cast and team

Also starring: Vicellous Reon Shannon, Deborah Unger, Liev Schreiber, John Hannah, Dan Hedaya, Debbi Morgan, Clancy Brown, David Paymer, Harris Yulin, and Rod Steiger. The script was adapted by Armyan Bernstein and Dan Gordon from the books Lazarus and the Hurricane by Sam Chaiton and Terry Swinton and The 16th Round by Rubin 'Hurricane' Carter. The film was directed by Norman Jewison.

Storyline

The film narrates the life of middleweight boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, concentrating on the period between 1966 and 1985. It describes his fight against the conviction for triple murder and how he copes with nearly 20 years in prison. In a parallel plot, an underprivileged youth from the Bronx becomes interested in Carter's destiny after reading Carter's autobiography, and convinces his Canadian friends to engage themselves in the case. The story culminates with the Carter team's successful pleas to Judge H. Lee Sarokin of the United States District Courts.

Controversy

The movie was criticized for misrepresenting some of the facts of Carter's life, which are well documented in both his criminal and military records, police reports and court documentation. In particular by Cal Deal, The Herald-News reporter, Larry Elder, [link] Thomas Clough, Barbara Burns, the daughter of victim Hazel Tanis, George Kimball of The Irish Times, Milan Simonich of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Lona Manning[link], The New York Times, (referred to as the "newspaper of record") reporter Selwyn Raab, Paul Mulshine of The Newark Star-Ledger and Jack Newfield of the New York Post who stated, "I knew Rubin Carter, attended his fights, covered his retrial and I didn't see much reality on the screen". For example;

He didn't stab a pedophile to protect himself and a friend, it was an assault and robbery.
He was actually convicted of three muggings prior to his professional boxing career.
Carter was a savage street fighter and leader of a gang called The Apaches.
During his military service, he was court-martialed four times and discharged as "unfit".
The movie depicts him returning as a decorated soldier, though Carter never distinguished himself in the army.
On the night after the murders, his car was stopped twice, but only at the second stop he was arrested.
Carter did not ride in the front seat.
Movie places Carter in a Dodge Monaco not a Polara.
The Lafayette Grill did not welcome African Americans.
The police emergency call log was not faked to frame Carter.
Police did not use heavy-handed tactics to arrest Carter.
The Canadians did not discover new evidence.
Detectives did not threaten the Canadians or tamper with their car.
The Racist Detective who hounded Carter from childhood, did not exist.
Carter was not the #1 contender for the middleweight title.
Burglars "conspiring" to frame Carter were really seventy five miles apart, one was in prison at the time.
The getaway scene is misleading in Carter's favor.
There was no speech given by Carter in Federal Court.
The Canadians did not find the diary of a dead investigator

Former middleweight Champion Joey Giardello sued the film's producers for libel over the depiction of his fight with Carter as a "racist fix". Eventually, the case was settled, with the producers paying the retired champion a hefty sum (reportedly $300,000).[link]

Some film critics defend the movie despite its inaccuracy. Roger Ebert states: "Those who seek the truth about a man from the film of his life might as well seek it from his loving grandmother," and further, "The Hurricane is not a documentary but a parable, in which two lives are saved by the power of the written word."

Awards

Washington was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. Various newspaper articles have suggested that the controversy over the film’s accuracy may have cost Washington the Oscar.[link] However, he received a Golden Globe Award in 2000 and a 'Silberner Bär' (Silver Berlin Bear) from the Berlin International Film Festival. Director Norman Jewison was awarded the 'Prize of the Guild of German Art House Cinemas' at the same festival. All in all, the film received six international awards.

Trivia

"Hurricane" is also a song by Bob Dylan, released in 1975 and included on his 1976 album Desire. It tells the story of the alleged injustice behind Rubin Carter's imprisonment. It is often described as a Hit Single, although its highest placing was just #31 on the Billboard chart.
"Hurricane" is also the name of a second song, by Black Thought, Mos Def, and Common, which appears on this film's soundtrack. It too tells the story of the alleged injustice behind Carter's imprisonment, though its lyrics are completely distinct from Dylan's.
Rubin "Hurricane" Carter is 5'8" and 155 pounds, Denzel Washington is about 4 inches taller and almost 40 pounds heavier. The actor would classify as a cruiserweight and his film opponents had to be chosen accordingly.
Judge H. Lee Sarokin suggested that he should play himself in the movie.

The picture of Malcolm X in Carter's cell, is a picture of Denzel Washington from the movie, "Malcolm X"

Joey Giardello's real name is Carmine Orlando Tilelli.

Tagline: His greatest fight was for justice.

External links

[The Hurricane] review by Roger Ebert

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